Bowie died Monday following an 18-month battle with cancer. The
English rock musician famously moved to Berlin in the 1970's,
producing the iconic albums "Low," "Heroes," and "Lodger."

It may seem like an odd accolade for a government to bestow on a
rock star, but Bowie's music from Berlin is entwined with modern
German history. Specifically, as the German Foreign Office links
to in the above tweet, his hit song "Heroes."

David
Bowie performing onstage at The Concert for New York City to
benefit the victims of the World Trade Center disaster. October
20, 2001.Scott
Gries/ImageDirect

Woodall also spoke with Tobias Ruther, a German pop journalist
who had just written a book about that period titled "Helden:
David Bowie und Berlin" — translated, "Heroes: David Bowie and
Berlin."

Woodall writes:

In 1987, nearly a decade after he left, Bowie returned to West
Berlin to give a concert close to the Wall - and spoke German.
Riots erupted on the other side. "The demos were really violent,"
says Ruther. "And guess what? A week later in Berlin, Ronald
Reagan told Gorbachev to 'Tear down this wall'."

Ruther says these East Berlin demonstrations were the first in a
long line of riots that led to the epoch-making events of
November 1989, but stops short of suggesting Bowie had anything
to do with the Wall's collapse.

On the other hand, he was one of the biggest stars on the planet,
he spoke a little German and he knew as well as anyone the power
of pop. Is it so absurd to conclude that David Bowie,
ex-Berliner, agitator of - and loved by - millions, helped blast
the Wall apart?

You can watch Bowie performing "Heroes" at the 1987 West Berlin
concert below: